Thespian lol Cats and the Natya Shashtra

Cats appeal to me, in part, because of their independent natures and swift and immediate capacity to be able to shift between emotional registers. They can be at one moment, coy and mysterious (I was once worshiped as a god in Egypt you insignificant human), the next a bold thief and brazen lier (how can I have stolen the steak from the fridge. I don’t have opposable thumbs!), suddenly affectionate (love me, pet me, feed me!), suddenly cheeky (your legs make a good scratching post), and especially histrionic (tera khoon pee jaoonga, chooha!). They make the best actors and as cats over the ages have inspired different poets mystics and artists, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that cats had some hand in inspiring the Natya Shatra…that is, the oldest existing theatrical text from India that is used as a manual today in the classical dance and theatre traditions alive today. So here’s a little Desi classical theatre history for ya presented with the assistance of some feline thespian lol cats…

The Natya Shastra of Bharata ( Nātyaśāstra ) (titled as Natyashastra नाट्य शास्त्र) is the principal work of dramatic theory in the Sanskrit drama of classical India. It was written by the sage Bharata Muni. It is a set of precepts on the writing and performance of dance, music and theatre. While the Natyasastra primarily deals with stagecraft, it has come to influence music, dance, and literature as well. Thus, an argument can be made that the Natyasastra is the foundation of the fine arts in India. This Natya Shastra was written by the sage Bharata Muni who, it is claimed, was directly inspired by the god Brahma. It is believed to have been written during the period between 400 BC and 200 AD.

Bharata sets out a detailed theory of drama comparable to the Poetics of Aristotle. He refers to bhavas, the imitations of emotions that the actors perform, and the rasas (emotional responses) that they inspire in the audience. He argues that there are eight principal rasas: love, pity, anger, disgust, heroism, awe, terror and comedy, and that plays should mix different rasas but be dominated by one.One of the most important concepts in the Natyasastra is the experience of rasa (translated sometimes as ‘emotions,’ ‘sentiments’ or ‘flavor’). Rasa are the emotional states that the refined and educated Sanskrit Drama audience members experiences as they watch a play. Each rasa experienced by the audience is associated with a specific bhava portrayed on stage. For example, in order for the audience to experience srngara (the ‘erotic’ rasa), the playwright, actors and musician work together to portray the bhava called rati (love).

The Natyasastra identifies eight rasa and eight corresponding bhava:

Bhava(the performance of emotion)……… Rasa (the audience’s reaction to it)

Repent fools! We are going to get in your house and stealith thy bandwidth! We shall getith unto thy fridge and take your mayo! And last, but not least, we shall get in thy head and stealith thy brain! Repent humans! The time of the Cat Revolution is nigh!